“I never put the ball on the ground,” said Wright a 5-foot-11 sophomore forward. “I had a basic drop-step. I had to develop my ball-handling. Along with driving to the basket, I had to develop an outside shot.”

Wright’s hard work and dedication is paying off in a big way. She was named Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year last season, when she averaged 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Wright has revved her game up a couple more notches this season. She’s averaging 16.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game for the Greyhounds, who are 20-3 overall and tied for first with eighth-ranked Catholic with an 11-1 mark in the conference.

Wright added to her growing resume on Tuesday when she was named Lehigh Valley Small College Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.

Former Wilson standout Sondrine Glovas of DeSales, ex-Southern Lehigh star Alita Zabrecky of Muhlenberg, Jessica Martin of East Stroudsburg, Emily Soper of Delaware Valley and Ashley Wood of Kutztown were the other candidates for the award.

“Actually, I’m kind of shocked,” Wright said. “I had a lot of fears coming into the season. I really worked hard to get stronger and focus on what I could do to become a better player.”

Greyhounds coach Mary Beth Spirk knew she had something special when she recruited Wright out of Governor Mifflin High School in Shillington, Pa.

“She’s probably one of the most athletic players to come through Moravian,” Spirk said. “It was just a matter of her fitting into the system. I thought she’d struggle a bit this year without Ally Blair (of Bethlehem Catholic, who graduated), but she’s really stepped up her game.”

Wright ultimately chose Moravian over DeSales and Kutztown.

“I wanted to go to a school that would challenge me both academically and athletically,” said Wright, who majors in business management with a minor in accounting. “Moravian seemed perfect. I feel comfortable talking to anyone if I have an issue about anything. I love the coaches. They’re funny, and they’re always there to help me, too.”

“We wanted her to develop her game in the open floor because she’s so much more athletic than most of the big girls who guard her,” Spirk said. “She’s often double- and triple-teamed, but she’s generally pretty even-keeled.”

One area where Wright needs improvement is her foul shooting. She’s averaging just 58.8 percent (90-for-153) from the line.

“She definitely needs to work on that,” Spirk said. “Quite frankly, if I was coaching against her, she’d be the one I’d foul.”

“Coach came up to me the other day and said ‘Do you know how many points you’re giving up by missing foul shots?’” Wright said. “I said ‘I know coach.’ I stay after practice all the time to take extra shots.”